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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

retiring the schwinn fastback

any day now, i'll be retiring the 2001 schwinn fastback. it's lived a long and prosperous life, and it's time to hang it up.

i really love that bike. it fits me like a glove, and it's so confidence inspiring.

why hang it up? it has approximately 14,000 miles on it. even though most of the components are swapped out (front derailleur and brakes are original), the frame and fork have done their jobs and you never know when older, high mileage stuff could give up the fight. i would hate for that to happen...and i would hate for it to happen more while i was sprinting or going down hill.

what am i getting? you'll see. i post photos here. it's as modern as it gets. and lucky me, it's very close in geometry to my beloved fastback.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

I bought my 2001 Fastback Limited on ebay last year, all stock. Doesn't appear to have been abused, or even ridden for all that many miles. Love the Velomax wheelset, they really roll (though my mechanic friend says they are a bitch to replace spokes). I also find that the ride is no harsher than the steel Lemond Zurich it replaced.

I love the silvery finish and the tig welds, and the fact that it's a Schwinn! As far as it getting unsafe, aircraft are not made of steel or carbon fiber. I know someone who rides 30 miles a day on his Cannondale from the 80s. My only concern would be with the carbon Time fork, which I will probably replace when I get some cash.